Using the iTunes Store is a simple and cheap way to download music, as well as TV shows and movies. All you have to do is click the iTunes Store icon on the left side of the iTunes screen and search for whichever song, artist or album you wish to download. Albums are generally no more expensive than $10, as opposed the $15 or $20 a CD would cost. A song is only 99 cents or $1.29, which is convenient for when you want only a song and not the entire album.
When you go to buy a song or album, iTunes will ask you for your Apple ID and password, so keep these handy. If you have forgotten your ID or do not have an Apple account, a good alternative is to use your AOL screen name and password instead. You can do this by checking the box next to the AOL icon instead of the Apple icon on the log-in screen that pops up when you click "Buy."
If you are having trouble finding the song you are looking for, sort the songs by "Popularity." The "Popularity" tab is located between "Price" and "Album" on the iTunes Stores Search results screen. If you click the "Popularity" tab, the songs will automatically sort by popularity, thus making popular songs easier to find. Conversely, if you click the "Popularity" tab twice, the songs will sort from least popular to most, which is sometimes useful when looking for a less well known song title.
Always, always search under the "Music" option under the "FILTER BY MEDIA TYPE" tab. This reduces your results to purely audio files, making it more likely that you'll find what you're looking for. Also, if you are looking for a specific song or album, search the song or album title instead of simply the artist---you are more likely to get to get the desired result this way.
If you're in the mood to listen to music but don't want to bother with downloading, there are some great sites where you can search and listen to any artists you like. Some favorites are Songza.com and Last.fm.com. Songza allows users to search for specific songs and artists for listening purposes. If you create a free account on Songza, you can also create playlists and save them for later use. A great feature on Last.fm is the possibility of listening to a radio station devoted to a specific artist. For example, "Arctic Monkeys Radio" would play not only Arctic Monkeys classics, but also bands that are similar and tend to appeal to Arctic Monkeys fans.